The Salem plant makes silicon ingots for the Shiga factory. But because the Japanese factory is halting production, there’s no longer a need for the ingots, Reilly said.

Sanyo Solar of Oregon opened its factory in 2009 to make wafers and silicon ingots for solar cells, receiving more than $42 million in taxpayer incentives to locate in Salem. Sanyo is a subsidiary of Osaka-based Panasonic.

Panasonic Eco Solutions Solar America LLC told the state of Oregon in a Sept. 6 notice it expects to start plant layoffs Nov. 6, with 86 regular and six temporary employees losing their jobs. The positions range from engineers to administrative staff.

"I regret that business conditions in our part of the solar industry have led to this action," Toshihiro Nomura, the company's president, said in the notice.